Background to Sociology

Scientific revolution of 17th century Enlightenment Philosophy of 18th c. French Revolution (1789--) Industrial Revolution (19th century)

Scientific Revolution
Newton: physical world governed by invariant laws Locke: all ideas from sensations, from the outside Descartes: supremacy of reason, cognition Francis Bacon: empiricism

Church View
Life here and now a preparation for the afterlife, entry into the kingdom of God Humanity under curse of original sin Physical universe is Gods mystery Active providence Knowledge from authority, tradition Humanity in decline (The Fall)

The Enlightenment
Happiness in the here and now Freedom from physical and mental coercion Reason: as a human faculty and as a force Nature: nature is reasonable, can reveal Natural Law, affect human conduct Natural Science as method of understanding Progress: human world can get better

Extension of Enlightenment principles

Natural law and natural rights the basis of the political community Pursuit of individual interests is good Political freedom is natural including freedom to own land Education should be for the development of human faculties Knowledge should be based on empirical analysis

Auguste Comte
Tried to overcome conflicting points of view through science Believed that warfare caused by differing points of view based on substandard knowledge Thought that science and the scientific method could provide a new authoritative belief system

Comtes Law of three stages

Human thought has evolved through these stages: Theological Metaphysical (abstract principles) Positive (scientific)

The Sciences have progressed by moving into the positive stage in a sequence

Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Phrenology (psychology?), (and finally) SOCIOLOGY

Sociology would provide the new blueprint for a society

With a plan based on science, society could be reorganized to achieve peace and prosperity (order and progress) A system of education, industry, and law based on the science of sociology A world government to settle disputes and avoid war

Problems with Comte:

Phrenology a pseudo-science Premise that we are born to fulfill a specialized role is suspect (natural inequality) Replaced dogma of Church with dogma of Sociology Vision of a managed society

Emile Durkheim
Tried to give respectability to sociology Criticized the assumptions of the liberal society of his time (19th century) Founder of Functionalism Worked from the Positivist perspective

Durkheims positivism
There is a unity to nature Social phenomenon are part of the objective world of nature Social phenomenon are subject to their own laws which are natural Social causality

Basic Concepts (Durkheim)

Social Facts as objective reality Social Facts (1)=Rates Social Facts(2)=institutions (with their rules) Are external to the individual Exercise a constraint

Durkheimmore concepts
Mechanical Solidarity (the bond based on similarity) Organic Solidarity (the bond based on interdependence and specialization)

Suicide StudyChallenged these:

Suicide caused by climate/geography Suicide caused by Race (genetic factors) Suicide caused by Mental Disease

Suicide rates are social facts

Protestant rates higher than Catholics, higher than Jews Single persons rate higher than married People from small families higher than people from large families

Higher education, higher suicide rate Society during peacetime higher than wartime

One Cause: higher degree of Egoism

Weaker bonds within the group, or weaker social solidarity Or, isolation from a group Egoism=little shared group life or, weakened social integration

Opposite of Egoism=Altruism

Group bonds too strong, life of individual unimportant compared to group

Another dimension: Anomie

Changes in relation between the individual and controlling circumstances Anomie= being without norms (rules) A-norm

Examples:
Divorce Widowhood Unemployment Losing wealth Rapid wealth gain

Opposite of Anomie=Fatalism

Excessive regulation

Examples:
Suicide of prisoners Suicide of slaves Suicide by wives in a traditional family system

Karl Marx 1818-1883

Philosophy Student, Journalism Allied with Left Hegelians in 1840s Germany-Belgium-France-England International Workers Movement Best known for Manifesto of the Communist League and Capital

Basics:
Humans must (necessarily) interact with natural environment through human labor Humans produce their means of subsistence Humans create their own history (including the institutions of human society) although they are not always aware of it

Marx: Stages of Human Societies

1.Pre-class (tribal) 2. Asiatic 3. Ancient (Greece, Rome) 4. Feudalism 5. Capitalism

History based on Class Conflict

Class structure different depending on type of society Tribal societies have no social class structure

Capitalism
Bourgeoisie vs. Proletariat

Workers Protest Through:

Labor Unions Political Parties Underground Parties

Capitalism overthrown through revolutionary activity of Working Class

The Sociology of Karl Marx

Progress through the development of the forces of production Philosophy, religion and the idea systems of a society based on the nature of the economic base of a society (the forces and relations of production taken together)

Economic base consists of:

Productive forces (labor power, means of production [tools etc], raw materials) Social Relations of Production (the property relations, system of ownership)

Marx: major concerns

How social life is structured by the commodity relationship under capitalism (alienation, treating people as a means to an end) Economic crisis of capitalism, monopoly Social change

Marx: Dialectical and antipositivist

Capitalism has laws, but are specific to this mode of production. Society and its institutions are ultimately under the control of the members.

Max Weber (1864-1920)

Criticized the materialist side of Marx Was anti-positivist No general history of humans (e.g. evolutionary theory) Every choice involves a tradeoff Sociology to deal with specific problems or issues

Max Webers sociology: context

Historical school (study the unique cultural productions of a society) Positivism=look for the general laws that structure societies

Webers method:
Rejects Positivism (need to look at the meaning that events, actions have for a group)=Verstehen sociology Rejects historicism. There are a relatively small number of concepts that enable us to comprehend various societies and the historical past.

Limited number of types of social action:

1. Rationally purposeful action (Zweckrational) instrumental rationality (varies among individuals) 2. Vertrational=Value-rational goals or ends defined in terms of subjectively meaningful values (noble death)(salvation) 3. Affective action (emotional, impulsive) 4.Traditional

Limited number of types of authority:

1. Legal rational 2. Traditional 3. Charismatic

Webers concerns:

1. Uniqueness of Western Society=Science and Capitalism 2. Capitalism (bureaucracy) has standardized the experiences of all individuals (iron cage of bureaucracy) loss of magic 3. How religion influences personality and behavior 4. Use of sociology to deal with problems of German Society

Webers sociological method

Value freedom (separation of analysis from personal values) Sociological inquiry cannot establish values Verstehen (interpretive) method No reconciliation between individual and society (competing demands)

Comparisons:
Marx: sociology for enlightenment, demystification of understanding Durkheim: search for General Laws of human society (cannot be changed, only adapted to) Weber: cannot escape from the structured choices that individuals face

Current major approaches:

1 functionalism (how do actions, activities maintain the social order?) 2. Symbolic interactionismin interaction people create rules, meanings 3. Conflict theory

Causality in sciencemetaphor?
Positivism: cause-effect model independent variable causing changes in dependent variable Weber: multiple causes (meaning antecedents or limiting factors) Marx: system of capitalism imposes limits on behavior

Sociological Research
1.experiments 2. Surveys 3. Observation (unobtrusive) and participant 4. Comparative and Historical 5. Analysis of existing data (archival) 6. Community, institutional study.

Approach to Research
1. Researchable Problem 2. Review Literature 3. Formulating a Hypothesis --operational definitions 4. Research Design 5. Data Collection 6. Data Analysis 7. conclusions

Major approaches (Text)

Functionalism Conflict theory Symbolic Interactionist (Interactionist)

Other approaches
Critical Theory (Frankfurt School) (used Marx and Freud) (capitalism and culture)